The underlying assumption is that both your Wi-Fi AP (i.e. wireless router) and your client (i.e. device, like a laptop) are using the same Wi-Fi standard and configuration. For example, the maximum data rate for 802.11ac 2×2 is 867 Mbps.The “max data rate ÷ by 2” part of the equation broadly estimates actual throughput by taking into account network overhead and environmental factors explained earlier; that number is then divided by the number of clients sharing the bandwidth to arrive at the maximum throughput. It’s important to keep in mind that the throughput formula doesn’t take into account that data rate and throughput decrease as clients move away from the AP.

The following shows how the throughput for an 802.11ac 2×2 Wi-Fi device decreases as you add clients:

What seemed like more speed than you might need quickly shrinks to speeds that you do need, especially in a modern home setting where multiple members of a family are streaming video, playing online games, or downloading files across multiple devices. In essence: the higher the maximum data rate, the more throughput.